Hilarity of herd behavior

1. Nevaeh ("Heaven" spelled backward and one of the most divisive names around, according to Wattenberg.) 2. Destiny (People dislike names that confer a virtue onto a child, Wattenberg said — and many felt associated this name with exotic dancers.) 3. Madison 4. Mackenzie 5. McKenna 6. Addison (An example of a masculine named turned feminine, which many people dislike, Wattenberg said) 7. Gertrude (People said this name is "ugly.") 8. Kaitlyn (For its "made-up" spelling.) 9. Makayla 10. Bertha 11. Hope

I gave myself my own 'spirit name' to take into the afterlife, which is also the handle I use on this forum since it's more who I am than my standard name. I figured there's no good reason to go with a name someone else put on you, even though I was perfectly happy with the name on my birth certificate I realized it still wasn't the most ideal name possible in the whole world for my personal tastes. Someone, I think it was Marshall McLuhan, said a good line: "being named at birth is a blow most people never recover from".

The guy in the picture is Tristan van der Vlis who shot and killed six people in a shopping mall in Alphen aan de Rijn, the Netherlands about three weeks ago. After his shooting spree he shot himself through the head at the cash register of a supermarket. He was a schizophrenic who stopped using his medication. And perhaps having the name Tristan was also a motivation.

The guy in the picture is Tristan van der Vlis who shot and killed six people in a shopping mall in Alphen aan de Rijn, the Netherlands about three weeks ago. After his shooting spree he shot himself through the head at the cash register of a supermarket. He was a schizophrenic who stopped using his medication. And perhaps having the name Tristan was also a motivation.

My own grandmother on my father's side was named Bertha - she was a lovely woman and woe unto anyone who would besmirch her name in my presence...you don't fuck with people's grosseltern!!! I agree with your assessment though - as for most of those names though...bleeeaaarghhhhh!!

This is an interesting subject. While I don't personally like names like Destiny, Faith, Hope etc., I think that they may in fact be much closer to traditional European practice than picking a name from history. Traditional European names were often a word or words that would have been more or less understood by the societies to which they belonged. Beginning from the High Middle Ages onwards those names became fossilised while language moved on, hence their meanings were no longer understood and they were picked instead for their genealogical/historical connotations more and more. Then as the Middle Ages progressed Biblical names increasingly came into popularity. If you really wanted to be like traditional Europeans you would call your sons Red-King or Elf-Council or Tribe-Ruler instead of Ruaidhrí/Rory or Aelfraed/Alfred or Theoderic/Dietrich.

This is an interesting subject. While I don't personally like names like Destiny, Faith, Hope etc., I think that they may in fact be much closer to traditional European practice than picking a name from history. Traditional European names were often a word or words that would have been more or less understood by the societies to which they belonged. Beginning from the High Middle Ages onwards those names became fossilised while language moved on, hence their meanings were no longer understood and they were picked instead for their genealogical/historical connotations more and more. Then as the Middle Ages progressed Biblical names increasingly came into popularity. If you really wanted to be like traditional Europeans you would call your sons Red-King or Elf-Council or Tribe-Ruler instead of Ruaidhrí/Rory or Aelfraed/Alfred or Theoderic/Dietrich.

Great point. Take the Sagas of the Icelanders, for instance. Lots of great names in there! In fact, contrasted with how "boring" the stories are, the names stick out as the only "colorful" aspect. Harald Tangle-Hair declared he wouldn't comb his hair until he united all of Norway. Then he changed his name to Harald Fair-Hair!